Q. I have heard that you shouldn’t put styrofoam in the microwave. Is it true? If so why not, what happens? Can you microwave styrofoam? How about the styrofoam container with your leftovers from dinner last night, or the styrofoam cup your take out hot chocolate is in – can you reheat that in the microwave safely?
Can you microwave styrofoam?
A. What most people know as Styrofoam, is actually the trade name of a polystyrene foam product used for housing insulation. Polystyrene is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer and a lightweight material composed of about 95 percent air, with very good insulating properties. It’s used in all types of products from containers and cups that keep your food and beverages hot or cold to packaging material that keep your computers safe during shipping.
Heating styrofoam in the microwave can cause it to lose it’s shape, or appear to melt. Polystyrene doesn’t melt from the heat in the microwave though, it would melt from the heat of it’s contents warming up. Styrofoam is a type of plastic, and toxic chemicals may leach out of these products into the food that they contain especially when exposed to heat. These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems and the effects of long term exposure are not fully known.
While you can put styrofoam containers in the microwave, the heat of it’s contents could melt the container and destroy your meal. Polystyrene (and most high molecular weight polymers) are in no way soluble in water, and even if 50 per cent of your cup were to melt, you will not be absorbing any appreciable amount through the water in your cup.
So what to do? Put simply, there are two basic types of Styrofoam, one is microwave safe and the other is not. If your container is marked as “microwave safe” go for it, and if not, move your food or drink to a glass, ceramic or otherwise microwave safe container.
Please check your usage of it’s, the conjunction of “it is” or “it has”. When you use “its” as a possessive, as in your sentence: “Heating styrofoam in the microwave can cause it to lose it’s shape, or appear to melt.” The word “its” does not require the apostrophe and should read “its shape”.
http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/pronouns/1-grammar-error/
Also, fatty and oily foods are commonly microwave re-heated in styrofoam containers. The heated oils can act as hydrophobic organic solvents causing focal melting of the styrofoam and leaching the monomeric styrene from the polystyrene.
Note from an online physics forum: “microwaves heating oil: while a much poorer microwave absorber than water, oils still do absorb microwave energy and heat, especially if the quantity of oil is large – say 4 ounces or more. Also, oils have a specific heat capacity of about 0.5, which is half that of water (1.0) and that means that for a given amount of microwave energy absorbed oil will heat twice as much as water. But be extraordinarily careful heating oil inside a microwave oven because oils can easily reach temperatures of over 400 F! This can cause serious burns. So, it is best not to heat them inside a microwave oven.”
Reference https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/microwave-oven.316981/
No wonder my sausage and other fatty meats “explode” in the microwave!
You’re a sad human being, honestly. Please, please get a life and stop pestering people about their grammar when writing an informative article.
yeah really good for you that you noticed a grammar error…smh. Nobody cares.
The sad human beings are the people like you who can’t admit they’re too dumb to know which version of a word to use.
Are you freaking kidding? Cheryl Van Epps correctly calls out the error with it’s vs its. When an article that purports to be authoritative with guidance on a health topic has grammatical errors it *diminishes the confidence* (or at least, it should) that the reader will have in the information presented. It stops sounding like carefully-researched reliable guidance and starts looking like something your Aunt Tilly decided to pontificate on, on her blog.
I think she meant the contraction of it is and I spent a fair amount of time figuring this out because I am an even sadder human being but I hate to correct people on small things like that which most people immediately understand without being corrected. Nonetheless or is it none the less I liked her comment and did not feel it was pedantic, derogatory or meant to shame.
I agree that grammar correction can sound pedantic; however, an informative article can undercut its own authority with errors of grammar and usage. Perhaps OP was just trying to be helpful.
Agree. We should always welcome feedback.
Stop pestering people for asking others to write correctly when writing an informative article. It’s a small thing to ask – just learn its versus it’s.
Cheryl, please check your use of “conjunction”. A conjunction is a word used to link two or more things. And, or, but are conjunctions.
Compound words where an apostrophe takes the place of one or more letters are called contractions.
Thank you Scott! I can’t stand people like that!
Agreed. Thank you Scott. Informative article.
Well done Scott. Well done!
lol Muphry’s law strikes again
Please check your use of Murphy’s law. Not relevant in this case
You mean Murphy’s law?
So the logic here is that two wrongs DO make a right? Yeah, Cheryl misused “conjunction”… but that doesn’t detract from her point that the original article misused contractions.
So then sir what is the function of the Conjunction junction?
Uh, hooking up words and phrases and clauses… obviously!!! 🤣😂
Can you microwave the styrofoam cups they have in the hospital?
Katie,
Really?
That was way too cute. Come on Cheryl you don’t remember
Conjunction junction what’s your function?
Hooking up words and phrases and clauses
Conjunction junction how’s that function?
I got three favorite cars that get most of my job done.
Conjunction junction what’s their function?
I got “and” , “but” and “or” they’ll take you pretty far…
Cheryl Van Epps- I know that people are giving you a hard time, but I thank you for your comments. I like to know when I am using a word incorrectly or assassinating grammar! I thought you were very respectful in your comment. The misuse of “it’s” as a possessive rather than “its” is something I’ve been guilty of in the past, prior to being corrected.
I totally understand anyone’s confusion on the matter, as usually a possessive requires an apostrophe.
Scott Smith is right on the contraction vs. conjunction point, also.
I keep learning everywhere I go! Good for the brain…
I like your reply Reader Rita and I agree with you but I am a sad human being
Why would you distinctly comment, just to correct someone’s grammar?Like, who cares? We all clearly understood his point. Just rude…now you can pick my comment apart.. and Go—–>
It’s not Murphy’s law… that implies something outside of your control went wrong whereas in this case you just felt the need to call out someone on the internet about their grammar and in tern made a fool of yourself, not sure what you would call it.. maybe hubris??
If you are seriously correcting someone’s grammar and or punctuation on a post about microwaving food you are dull and boring get a life I am leaving all punctuation out of this just to piss you off
In theory I agree however it is appaling how many American can not speak or write correctly they should buy a Webster’s dictionary or use wicipedia!!!!
Are you trying to be ironic with your spelling errors there?
So then if you correct someone for correcting someone’s grammar on a post about microwaving food-at 3 am apparently- do you have an even more dull life?
More dull than me, who makes fun of comments over a year old?
this is a little harshened borders on passive/aggresssive
OMG I failed to punctuate and capitalize so I am not only a sad human being but possibly even more passive aggressive
I wouldn’t microwave hospital styrofoam because, hospitals are in business because of sick people. I don’t imagine that they are concerned with providing patients with “microwave safe” styrofoam.
Cheryl, please check your use of Murphey’s law. No current law is called Muphrey’s law.
No one cares, I needed to know if I could microwave styrofoam… now I know, i didn’t need a grammatically correct story
What about styrofoam plates?
Um, you used the wrong “it’s/its” multiple times. When it is a possessive, it’s “its”, not “it’s”.
LMAO I was just curious about styrofoam safety, I love seeing Cheryl getting reemed for being a horrible person LOL
I microwave my corn beef hash on styrofoam and it works just fine
It’s not about grammar it’s about information. I want to find the answer to my question, not read your childish comments about grammar.
Sorry, but I agree re: the comment telling people what the correct grammar is!!! As a former upper elementary/middle school teacher, it hurts my eyes when I see all the mistakes with it is!! All educated people should know the correct use of “its and it’s!” The minute I read something where these words are written incorrectly, the intelligence of the writer immediately goes down in my mind!!
What a bunch of losers !!…..You have nothing better to do then read and comment on this site ?? Wow !!
Pathetic !!